Friday, April 8, 2016

Surprised?

Well, let’s see if anything surprises us. At the end of March,
Indiana joins North Dakota in prohibiting abortions based on a prenatal
diagnosis of disabilities such as Down syndrome. HEA 1337, a
comprehensive measure, also protects unborn babies who would be aborted
because of their gender (almost always girls).
Planned Parenthood of Indiana and the ACLU wait a week or so and
sues. On what grounds? What else? That the law puts an “undue burden on
women’s right to choose an abortion.”
No doubt, we will soon also hear the lament that the state of Indiana
is “wasting” money because it defends a duly enacted law which the ACLU
and Planned Parenthood want to gut. Of course, if they hadn’t sued,
there would be no costs, but…
HEA 1337 goes into effect July 1. The lawsuit seeks an injunction to hold off the law’s enforcement until the case is resolved, the Chicago Tribune reported.
St. Joseph County Right to Life’s Executive Director Jeanette Burdell
issued this statement in response to the ACLU and Planned Parenthood’s
lawsuit to block Indiana’s Dignity for the Unborn law:

“We at St. Joseph County Right to
Life are pleased to support the Dignity for the Unborn law, as are the
majority of Hoosiers, because it is compassionate in helping parents
receive more information and services in the cases of potential
diagnosis of disability of their baby. It is our firm belief that
protecting unborn babies with certain characteristics (disability,
gender, race, etc.) from discrimination ranks higher than the legal
right to abortion. “Adoption is always a loving option, which many forget to include in the conversation, since no child is truly unwanted.”

Burdell went on to criticize what she described as the ACLU’s and Planned Parenthood’s “extremist position on abortion.”

With all our efforts and recent
successes in helping shut down the local abortion facility, protecting
innocent human life, and helping mothers find better options in the
event of an unplanned pregnancy, it has been good to see similar issues
addressed at state and national levels.

According to Indiana Right to Life, HEA 1337 “puts into law Hoosiers’
longstanding values that babies shouldn’t be aborted because of
disability, gender or race. In addition, it provides perinatal hospice
information to parents who receive a negative prenatal diagnosis. It
imposes respectful disposal methods of aborted fetal remains so that
baby body parts aren’t comingled with gall bladders and treated as
medical waste. It prohibits the transportation of an aborted baby into
or out of Indiana except for the purpose of final disposition. It also
increases informed consent for women by prohibiting group counseling
before an abortion so that the woman has an opportunity to discuss the
upcoming abortion procedure in private.”